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I'm an 11th level wizard in a homebrew game I'm in, and until now I've been specializing in battlefield control, especially walls and pit spells. But now we're starting to encounter a lot of flying enemies, as well as huge elementals that are too big for my pits and unaffected by a lot of other spells.
Now, summoning is always dandy, and I imagine casting Fly on a T-rex could have some fun results. But what other spells do you guys like to use on flying, huge, and otherwise troublesome opponents? (I really want Sirocco to be good for this, but it's only a DC15 fly check to stay in the air, which most things can make easily.)
Well, hold monster is just dandy on anything that flies by wings instead of magic.
Fly on the party fighter works wonders, too.
For elementals, consider either banishment/dismissal or spells doing damage of an elemental type they're vulnerable to. If they're summoned, they can be dispelled, or warded off by various protection spells (sometimes).
Telekinesis + a net (barbed I'd allowed)
Rimed spells that deal cold damage even with a successful save. I use it with ice storm and frost fall. It entangles as soon as the target gets dealt frost damage.
If I remember right entangles stops natural flight. And it will slo huge creatures so you have an easier time staying away from them. and their AC goes down so the martials hit more often.
Another spell I really like despite it having a fort save is exhausting ray, because it stacks. Two of those and everything without immunity or SR is exhausted.
Against Large or larger ground based foes, the Ice Spears spell is pretty nice at higher levels since their size allows them to be targeted by multiple spears. This gives cumulative +10 bonuses to the resulting CMB to trip the target, and you get to do a bit of damage on the side. Add rime spell and/or dazing spell to really ruin their day.
In fact, adding dazing spell (or anything else that adds the dazed condition) can potentially force natural fliers (at least clumsy ones) to land or crash since preventing them from taking actions prevents the action required to move and stay aloft. Stun (i.e. color spray) and paralyze (i.e. hold person/monster) effects will accomplish the same thing.
For magic-based fliers, you've got dispel magic and greater dispel if its spell-based, and AMF if its supernatural (though that might end up as sort of a suicide mission unless you've got means of non-magical flight yourself).
Command (or similar compulsion type spells like Suggestion) could force the flier to land of their own accord. Then the fighter promptly grapples them to keep them there.
Grapple effects like from Black Tentacles are effective against fliers provided they are low enough to the ground. Its a 20ft. radius, which means its a 3-dimensional effect (hemispherical). Not likely effective outdoors, but perhaps in a dungeon or as a readied action vs. a flyby attacker, it could work to good effect.
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Level 6 spells:
Ice Crystal Teleport: Paralyzes with a will save. Ideally, cast it on the flier at their lowest point (readied action?) so the ice survives the fall and then get your melee surrounding it on the ground.
Leashed Shackles: Again, ready an action when they get within 30' of the ground.
Major Curse: Only more relevant than Bestow Curse because it has a range. One of the possible curses is "50% chance to act normally, otherwise takes no action." Most flying creatures need to spend an action to stay in the air. If you have a cooperative GM, I bet you could also invent a "grounded" curse that prevents a creature from flying, or gives it massive penalties when not touching the ground or something like that.
Enemy Hammer: Grab and move targets--again, because it takes actions to fly, it seems like every outcome screws them if you can land the effect.
Flesh to Stone: Obviously.
Level 5 Spells:
Baleful Polymorph: Obvious.
Majic Jar: Pretty much wins in any situation.
Icy Prison: Ok, so this is probably more efficient than Ice Crystal Teleport, since you don't actually need the creature to teleport at the end anyway.
Dismissal: Instantly win any fight against a non-native Elemental (most of them).
4th level spells:
Bestow Curse: If you can touch the flying creature, of course
Confusion: At least half, and possibly 75% of the possible outcomes involve the creature being unable to take actions to fly.